Beyond Equestria: Rainbow Dash Rights the Ship
My Little Pony: Beyond Equestria: Rainbow Dash Rights the Ship by G. M. Berrow is the thirty-fourth book in a series of chapter books published by Little, Brown and Company and the fourth entry in the "Beyond Equestria" series. In this book, Rainbow Dash and Captain Celaeno's pirate crew go on a quest for a long-lost Cloudsdale treasure. Summary Celaeno comes to Cloudsdale The story begins with Rainbow Dash staying at her parents' house in Cloudsdale a few hours before the Wonderbolts' anniversary flight show, the "Loop-de-Loop Hoopla". As usual, Bow and Windy smother her with affection, serving her breakfast in bed, and are excited to see her perform. Rainbow informs her parents that she invited some friends from far away to come and watch the show. Moments later, Captain Celaeno and her crew of parrot pirates arrive outside the house in their airship. Using a set of back-mounted jet-propelled sky-packs that they recently traded for, Celaeno and the parrots are able to set foot on the clouds. After they meet Rainbow Dash's parents and get accustomed to walking on the clouds, the group heads to the Wonderbolts show. When the Loop-de-Loop Hoopla ends, Rainbow's parents and Celaeno's pirates shower her with praise, and she offers to give Celaeno and her crew a tour of the city—after a home-cooked meal by Bow and Windy. During the tour of Cloudsdale, Bow leads the group to the Cloudsdale History Museum, enticing the pirates with the prospect of finding treasure. Inside the museum, Rainbow Dash warns the pirates that the exhibits are only for admiring, not taking. In an effort to rein in their excitement, she offers to tell them stories about Cloudsdale's history. Celaeno is particularly interested in a large red jewel in the far corner of the museum. According to Rainbow Dash, the jewel is called the Good Fortune Garnet, and it was given to the first founders of Cloudsdale long ago by a mysterious and powerful Alicorn to always bring them good luck. However, the Garnet was stolen a long time ago, and the one on display in the museum is just a glass replica. Celaeno is very intrigued in finding the real Garnet, even more so when she learns that Rainbow Dash drew a map to its supposed location in the Thunder Jungle when she was little. Bow and Windy reveal that they held onto Rainbow's old map for all these years, and with Celaeno's encouragement, Rainbow agrees to go on a quest with her to find the Good Fortune Garnet. The pirate and the adventurer After being seen off by Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, Rainbow Dash, Captain Celaeno, and the pirates sail away on the airship toward Daring Do's residence for information on the Good Fortune Garnet. The ship lands near Daring Do's cottage, and Rainbow and Celaeno head down to greet her. While Daring Do is happy to see Rainbow Dash, she is wary about having a pirate in her home, but Rainbow assures her that Celaeno and her crew are allies. Daring is unsure that the Good Fortune Garnet even exists, but Celaeno is certain that it does based on her past experience with the Misfortune Malachite. Daring Do agrees with Celaeno's logic, explaining that some magical relics have polar opposites with opposing properties, such as the Doomed Diadem of Xilati and Tiara of Teotlale. Rainbow Dash is determined to find the Good Fortune Garnet and return it to Cloudsdale where it belongs. When Daring asks Celaeno why she is so eager to help Rainbow accomplish this, Celaeno says it is because Rainbow and her friends helped her and her crew break free from the Storm King's control. Satisfied by Celaeno's answer, Daring Do agrees to join them in finding the Garnet—under the condition that it be immediately returned to Cloudsdale once they do. A visit to Brumby Cloverpatch After three days of flying, the group reaches the next stop on their quest: the mountain village of Alto Terre, where Daring Do's aeronaut friend Brumby Cloverpatch lives. Upon learning that Brumby flies an airship of his own, the parrot pirates suddenly get nervous, but they do not explain why. When the ship lands, Rainbow Dash and Daring Do climb the mountain to Brumby's home while Celaeno and the pirates stay behind with the ship. At Brumby's cottage, Brumby happily greets his old friend Daring Do, and when he eyes Rainbow Dash suspiciously, Daring vouches for her. Once inside, Daring shows Brumby the map Rainbow drew when she was little and says that they are seeking the Good Fortune Garnet at the depths of the Thunder Jungle. Brumby produces his own map of the jungle's region and explains that the jungle is surrounded by a giant, impenetrable thunderstorm that the owner of the Garnet created to protect it, mentioning that only a "special Pegasus weather trick" can get through. Brumby lets Daring borrow his map, and Daring tells Rainbow to bring it to the ship while she catches up with Brumby a little, saying she'll catch up with them later. However, upon seeing the airship that Rainbow and Daring Do arrived on, Brumby is outraged to discover that they're in league with Captain Celaeno and her pirate crew. He shows Daring Do prototype designs for the sky-packs that the pirates were wearing, and he reveals that they didn't trade for the sky-packs as they previously claimed—they stole them. Shocked by this revelation, Daring offers to confront the pirates and get Brumby's sky-packs back. But Brumby comes up with another idea: taking his airship the Reflector out and getting the Good Fortune Garnet before the pirates do. Storms and changelings Several hours later, the pirates' airship sails toward the Thunder Jungle while Celaeno and her crew try to plot a safe course through its massive storm barrier. However, Rainbow Dash is constantly distracted, wondering why Daring Do hasn't caught up with them yet. She excuses herself to fly alongside the ship for a bit just as the fog starts rolling in. Every few minutes, she kicks a hole through the fog and looks behind the ship to see if Daring Do was coming, but there is no sign of her. Eventually, the ship reaches the gigantic storm surrounding the Thunder Jungle, and it starts to pull the airship in. Overcome by fear, the parrot pirates consider abandoning their quest and turning back, but Celaeno rallies them with an inspirational speech, and they decide to see their quest through. Celaeno, remembering that Pegasi can manipulate the weather, tells Rainbow Dash to punch a hole through the storm with her sonic rainboom. Rainbow flies out toward the eye of the storm and creates a burst of rainbow colors that allows the airship to sail through without harm. Meanwhile, Daring Do and Brumby Cloverpatch fly toward the Thunder Jungle in the Reflector, and their ship experiences violent, unexplainable air turbulence. Daring flies up to the top of the ship to investigate, and she discovers a tear in the ship's balloon that was leaking air and causing the turbulence. After a particularly severe gust of wind, the Reflector starts to dive toward the ground, and Daring Do uses her body to prop up the ship's gondola and cushion the crash. On the ground, Daring and Brumby realize they're in changeling territory, and they are greeted by a small swarm and their leader Thorax. Having witnessed Daring and Brumby's airship crash from the distance, they offer to help them with repairs. Brumby is surprised by their offer, having known changelings to be vicious harvesters of love up until now. After the Reflector is quickly repaired, Brumby thanks the changelings for their help, and Thorax asks them to spread word on their travels that changelings have changed and discovered the magic of friendship. Daring and Brumby bid their new friends farewell and take off toward the Thunder Jungle once more. The Good Fortune Garnet's test At the center of the thunderstorm, Rainbow Dash and the pirates find themselves in a dark waterfall oasis where everything is covered in a faint red glow. As they wonder where the Good Fortune Garnet is, Daring Do and Brumby Cloverpatch appear before them, having somehow gotten ahead of them. Brumby is about to confront the pirates over the theft of his sky-packs and Daring is about to reveal the pirates' true motives, but Celaeno says they can settle their disputes after the Garnet is found. Begrudgingly, Brumby explains that the Garnet is the cause of the jungle's red glow, and all they have to do is follow the glow to its source. After some time of navigating the jungle's labyrinth of trees, the ponies and parrots finally find the Good Fortune Garnet. Celaeno tries to claim it first, but it weighs too heavy for her to lift, even with the help of her crew. Brumby accuses Celaeno of wanting to keep the Garnet for herself instead of returning it to Cloudsdale. When Celaeno denies this, Brumby says she's lying, which he demonstrates by kicking the Garnet as if it were weightless. Brumby explains the Garnet's other magical property: it only allows itself to be owned by those who wish to use it to help others, not for personal gain. Rainbow Dash is appalled by Celaeno's deception, and Celaeno says she did want to help her return the Garnet to its rightful owners at first. But as time went on, she desired more and more to bring her crew good luck after everything that happened with the Misfortune Malachite and the Storm King. The other pirates are touched by Celaeno's concern for them, and Celaeno apologizes to both Rainbow Dash and Brumby, agreeing to give back the stolen sky-packs and deliver the Garnet to Cloudsdale as originally planned. As she is about to leave, Celaeno briefly loses her balance and trips over the Garnet, realizing it is no longer heavy for her to move. Rainbow Dash is convinced that Celaeno's motives are now pure, and the group decides to finish their quest once and for all. Epilogue Some time later, Rainbow Dash, her parents, Daring Do, Brumby Cloverpatch, and Celaeno's pirate crew hold a ceremony outside the Cloudsdale History Museum to officially announce the return of the Good Fortune Garnet. As the ponies of Cloudsdale marvel at the jewel, Rainbow asks Celaeno if she's worried that her crew won't have any good luck. Celaeno claims that they don't need a gem to bring them riches or treasures and that "the adventure is the best part". Quotes :Windy Whistles: Good morning, dearest Dashie-kins! I made your favorite brekkie! How's my favorite little Wonderbolt feeling today?! :Mullet: Rainbow Dash! This is where you live? :Rainbow Dash: No, First Mate Mullet. This is where I grew up! Welcome to Cloudsdale—the Pegasus city. Cool, huh? :Mullet: Almost as cool as where we hatched back in Ornithia. :Bow Hothoof: How does a fresh batch of pasta-and-potato sandwiches on sourdough sound? :Captain Celaeno: I've never even heard of that.... Which means... it's a brand-new adventure—a food adventure. Onward to pasta-and-potato sandwiches! :Lix Spittle: What's this, eh? A shield or something? Could be worth somethin'... :Rainbow Dash: Don't touch that, Lix! That's Netitus! Flash Magnus's fireproof shield? The one he used to save his fellow Legionnaires from the Dragon's lair? :Lix Spittle: So? :Bow Hothoof: Have fun on your adventure! Be safe! :Windy Whistles: Don't forget to wear a sweater if it gets chilly out there! And if there's a gift shop, bring me back a plate! :Daring Do: And you are? :Captain Celaeno: Captain Celaeno of Ornithia and the Open Skies. At your service. :Mullet: Airship? Do... uh... a lot of ponies have airships? :Rainbow Dash: He's the only one I’ve ever heard of. I mean, Twilight has her hot-air balloon, but that's not really the same thing.... Why? :Boyle: No reason! :Brumby Cloverpatch: That was the ship you were talking about?! This is an outrage! :Daring Do: I don't understand— :Brumby Cloverpatch: Those are the pirates who robbed me on the Reflector! :Captain Celaeno: Scalawags! Who are we? :Pirates: Swashbuckling treasure hunters. :Captain Celaeno: And what do we do?! :Lix Spittle: Uhhh... we swash? :Boyle: Buckle! :Pirates: And hunt treasure! :Captain Celaeno: That's right. We've traveled far and wide across these skies—both as masters of our own fate and as facilitators of someone else's. Tell me, mateys... which one was better? :Rainbow Dash: Masters of your own fate! :Captain Celaeno: That's right! We chose this here journey to challenge ourselves. It didn't choose us! “Besides, after the Storm King's rule, didn't we all decide to be awesome again? :Brumby Cloverpatch: Aren't Changelings all black and blue, with lil' holes in their hooves, though? :Daring Do: They used to be. But they changed. :Brumby Cloverpatch: Well, shouldn't we hide or somethin'? Changelings are evil! They suck the love right out of ya. :Thorax: Actually, now we just spread love and friendship! :Brumby Cloverpatch: I don't know how to thank ya enough. :Daring Do: We owe you one. :Thorax: It was our pleasure. But if you truly wish to thank us, you can spread word on your travels—Changelings do have the power to change! We have discovered the Magic of Friendship and can't wait to make more friends throughout Equestria. :Rainbow Dash: Brumby! We're all here for the same the reason, right? We all want to find the garnet and bring it back to Cloudsdale and— :Daring Do: No. Not all of us... :Captain Celaeno: Rainbow Dash! It wasn't like that.... :Rainbow Dash: So how was it, then? :Captain Celaeno: I did originally want to help you and the ponies of Cloudsdale by returning the treasure to where it belonged, but the more I thought about it... the more I realized that my crew here has had more than their fair share of bad luck. First with the Misfortune Malachite, and then the Storm King... I guess I just wanted a way to make sure that all our future swashbuckling days would be great ones! :Captain Celaeno: Shall we get this thing back to where it should be, then? :Daring Do: Sure, and after we bring Brumby back home, then we can return the Good Fortune Garnet, too! :All except Brumby Cloverpatch: laughing :Rainbow Dash: Hey, Captain? Are you worried that you and the crew won't have any good luck, now that the garnet is staying here? :Captain Celaeno: On the contrary, matey. We don't need a gem that's going to create riches or treasures for us. Us pirates think the adventure is the best part! Besides, now that we have friends like you, I think our true good fortune is just beginning. What say you? :Rainbow Dash: Aye!